


Today, Tomorrow, and all the In-betweens

by gaily-daily (passionateartist)



Category: Victor Frankenstein (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, vet!igor, victor is still crazy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-26
Updated: 2015-12-26
Packaged: 2018-05-09 11:18:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5537891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/passionateartist/pseuds/gaily-daily
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Modern Day AU in which Igor is a vet and Victor is still a mad-scientist who breaks into the clinic looking for animal parts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Today, Tomorrow, and all the In-betweens

**Author's Note:**

> I know nothing about Vet clinics and the procedures for putting down animals. I apologize for any and all incorrect assumptions made in this fic.

“Ow! Bugger!”

Igor looks up. His brows furrow. 

“Someone there?” He calls out. The clinic had been closed for several hours now. Igor, ever the hard worker, was often prone to staying late though. He’d been under the impression that everyone had already gone home. Did someone forget something?

There’s a small crash and a bigger groan.

“Hello?”

Igor rises from his chair and tentatively pokes his head out from his office door. He can’t see anyone. He takes out his phone, poised to call 911. Still, it could be nothing and he doesn’t want to call in a false alarm in case it really was one of his co-workers returning. Slowly, he creeps towards the back room where the noise came from. The door is open but it’s too dark to see inside. Igor presses against the wall and calls out.

“Whoever you are I’ve called the police so you better leave before they get here!” Okay, so he hadn’t actually called yet, but maybe they would get scared and leave before they did any harm. 

“Wait!” It’s too dark to see, but a figure holds up his hands in surrender. “I’m not here to hurt anyone!”

Igor doesn’t recognize the voice. Crap, he’d been hoping this was a harmless prank.

“Then why are you sneaking around?”

“I didn’t have a choice!”

In a split decision, Igor comes out from behind the wall. The intruder could be carrying a gun for all he knows; it’d be safer to stay out of sight. But nevertheless Igor flicks on the light letting it flood the room. The sudden light blinds the man momentarily and Igor takes this moment to trace his face. He’ll need to remember the man’s features so he can inform the police later. At first glance the man is older than him, probably thirties. His hair and goatee is a rich brown that looks as frenzied and crazed as the glint in his eyes. He was wearing a—Igor does a double take—a dark blue double breasted trench coat? The item, no doubt expensive, looked extremely out of place on the back of a robber in the middle of a robbery.

“Who are you?” Igor asks in the most menacing voice he can. However it sounds quite weak even to his own ears. Igor was never the aggressive type. Hence the reason why he loved animals so much.

It comes to his attention that he has virtually nothing to protect himself with. So Igor holds up his phone and points it menacingly at the intruder. He really should have thought this through.

“My name is Victor Frankenstein!” The man says. His hands are still up, trying to convey his innocence. “I’ve no intentions to hurt you I swear! I was just trying to see the dead animals.”

Igor pauses. Then blinks. How did he know they had a couple of recently deceased animals there? Veterinary clinics usually didn’t hold deceased pets overnight, either giving them back to the families or shipping them out to the crematorium the day they were put down. No wait, that was the wrong question to be asking here.

“No, no, it’s fine!” Victor tries to backtrack. “You see I just need the parts!”

“The...parts?”

“Yes! I’m a scientist!”

Igor stares.

“Well, sort of, I’m a student at the college! I’m studying anatomy! I’m working on a theory to reanimate the dead!”

Igor finally drops his phone to his side and stares at Victor incredulously. “Okay, I’m calling the police now.”

“No wait, really I am!”

“And why should I believe you? You just broke in here all of a sudden and expect me to believe anything you have to say?”

Victor looks disgruntled at this. “Well I didn’t want to break in! I’d be more than happy to purchase the animal parts, but no one will bloody sell them to me!”

This man was clearly insane. Igor chances a glance behind him. He could make a run for the door, lock the man—or Victor, if that really was his name—inside and then call the police and wait for them to arrive. Sounded like a solid enough plan. 

“Right, well that sounds lovely. I’m just going to go...er...to the bathroom really quick.”

Victor looks over Igor’s shoulder at the open door. He looks back. Their eyes lock. 

Shit.

Victor pounces before Igor even has a chance to scream. He rams Igor up against the wall. Igor cries out at the blossoming pain in his back. Victor doesn’t hesitate, using Igor’s stunned state to force him around. Igor scrambles against the other man, trying to push away from the wall with his feet. Victor hadn’t looked it before, but he was extremely fit. Igor can feel his muscled chest against him and he strains against the cage of Victor’s arms.

“Terribly sorry.” Victor huffs into his ear. “But I really do need those parts.”

Igor hears the clink of handcuffs and gapes. He looks down to see Victor has cuffed his hands behind his back. Who the hell walks around with handcuffs? Pink fuzzy ones at that?

“What the hell?!”

Victor manages to look sorry and completely unapologetic at the same time. Igor wonders how this man is even possible.

“Don’t worry. I’ll un-cuff you when I’m done.”

“The hell you are!”

Igor kicks out at him but Victor easily slides away from his attack.

“I don’t suppose you’d be willing to show me where you keep the corpses?”

Igor glares.

“Ah well, thought I’d give it a shot. I’ll be back!”

Victor makes to scurry off into the back rooms but Igor scowls and follows suit. 

“Oh no! I’m not letting you wander around!”

“Suit yourself.” Victor says pleasantly.

Igor couldn’t do much with his hands literally tied, but he still wasn’t going to let this lunatic wander around unsupervised. Who knows what he’d do?

Victor, for his part, seemed to be taking this rather well. He walked through the halls in an almost cheery mood. And, if Igor was hearing right, he could’ve sworn the man was humming. Just what the heck was with this guy?

“Ah ha!”

Igor jumps. He’d been so focused on trying to figure out the man in front of him he hadn’t noticed that Victor had finally found the room where they’d put the deceased pets. Victor waltzed up the biggest lump and lifts up the sheet revealing a bulldog. He proceeds to happily prod the creature.

“Yes, yes this will do nicely.” He mutters under his breath.

Igor shifts awkwardly behind him. If he couldn’t stop Victor from taking them he might as well find out why. He tries to tell himself it’s out of obligation to help the police with their investigation later on after Victor leaves, but there’s burning curiosity that’s beginning to forge in the pit of his stomach. He’ll never admit it, but this was the most exciting thing to happen to him since he opened a bottle of coke and the cap declared him a winner for another free bottle.

Lorelei was right. He needed to get out more.

“So, these animal parts,” Igor says very slowly, “you’re trying to use them for...for reanimation?”

Victor turns to him, eyes burning bright with intent.

“That’s right! It’s been my life’s work to prove that death is just as curable as any disease or fracture can be.” A strange, overbearing passion takes ahold of Victor’s voice and his hands gesticulate as he speaks. “If you could just think for one moment, just imagine a world where people didn’t have to be scared of death; a world where mothers didn’t lose their children to drunk drivers! A world where men could stand in court to point out their murderer! A world where no one had to lose anyone to pain or suffering...” 

Igor stares, listening to the zeal and fierce reverence in which Victor speaks. There’s something bright and intelligent in his eyes, eyes with hope for a better world. Victor truly believed in what he was saying. Truly believed that death could be conquered.

His words resound within Igor’s heart, echoing into its chambers. Despite how ludicrous it sounded, something inside him wanted to believe that what Victor was saying could truly be possible. That he could change all of humanity. Igor was a practical man, but even he would sometimes look up at the stars at night and dream of something bigger. 

“But how?” Igor finds himself interrupting. “Where would you even start?”

Victor looks more than delighted to share his theories with someone he’d only just met.

“It’s a simple matter of the transfer of energy! I’ve built something that can convert it back into dead material in order to revive it!”

“You built a machine that can transfer energy?”

“I call it the Lazarus Fork!” Victor puffs out his chest in pride. “It took a very long time to get the conversion process right, but a couple weeks ago I managed to revive a pair of eyes that have been deceased for over 3 months!”

Despite himself Igor finds himself impressed. 

“No way!” A smile sneaks onto his lips as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “That’s brilliant! Have you managed to revive anything else?”

Victor looks a little downtrodden at that.

“No, that’s what I need the parts for. I can’t very well practice reanimation if I don’t have anything to reanimate.”

Igor looks back at the bulldog lying on the table. “Oh.”

“Yes, hence the reason I am here.”

They both stand there awkwardly. The friendly atmosphere now gone. Igor shifts and his handcuffs clink together.

“Uh, right.”

Victor turns back to the dog and begins to poke at it once more; feeling the stomach and examining its paws.

“Could I ask you a favor?” Igor says.

“Hmm?” Victor doesn’t look up but he turns his head slightly towards him.

“Could you at least only take a few parts and leave the body here? The family that owned the dog wanted it to be cremated so they could have the ashes. If you take the body then there’ll be nothing left for them to have.”

Victor stops at this. He mulls it over for a moment, looking back at Igor and assessing his request.

“I don’t suppose why not.”

Igor sighs, a smile stretching across his face in relief. He’d been the one to put down the dog earlier that day. The family had been so upset and he didn’t want to further their pain by letting their pet’s body be stolen.

“Thank you.” He says. Genuinely grateful. 

Victor seems uncomfortable. He shifts back to the animal, his shoulders tight with tension. “Yes, you’re welcome.”

He pulls out a big bag of tools that Igor hadn’t noticed in the scramble before. Victor places it on the table and begins to take out a scalpel, pliers, gloves, and several other things that Igor can’t quite catch. Not knowing what to else to say in this situation, Igor shuffles closer to watch the man work. He takes in the way Victor’s form hunches over the table and the look of concentration in his eyes. His hands were steady as they delicately split the skin open. Igor finds himself momentarily enthralled. 

Could it really be true? Everything he had said? It seemed so impossible, but at the same time why should it have to be? Modern medicine has come such a long way since the beginning. Why did bringing back the dead have to be irrefutable nonsense when hundreds of years ago people died from a simple cold?

Igor watches Victor work for several minutes. It doesn’t take that long for Victor to retrieve the organs he needs. Soon he’s stitching the hound back up and Igor almost feels disappointed. Victor was without a doubt the strangest man he’s ever met, but for some reason Igor doesn’t want him to go just yet. He frowns, chasing the thoughts away into the darker corners of his mind. He would still have to report him to the police despite everything, he couldn’t just Victor go.

“All finished!”

Igor blinks and looks up. True to his word, Victor is zipping up the last of the bloody organs into a plastic bag and shoving it into his satchel. He throws the strap over his head and claps his hands together.

“Right, well I guess I’ll be off!”

“Hey wait! What about me?” Igor turns around, showing off his still cuffed hands. They were beginning to chaff around the wrists.

“Hm? Oh right, of course.”

Victor opens the flap to his bag and digs around inside. After a moment he looks up at Igor, then quickly returns his gaze to the satchel once more, this time putting two hands inside it. He starts to mumble to himself, shuffling through the various tools and bloodied bags.

“I know I put it somewhere...”

Igor grits his teeth. “Please tell me you have the key.”

Victor smiles innocently at him and holds up a reassuring hand. “Hold on, I’ll find it.”

“I can’t believe you handcuffed me and lost the key!”

“I didn’t lose it I just misplaced it.”

Igor clamps down on his tongue and screams internally. He closes his eyes before he loses it. Just calm down. Just think. It would all be okay. It—

Something touches his chest and Igor jumps back. Victor is padding him down, searching his pockets.

“What are you—“

“Ah ha!” Victor pulls out his phone. “Don’t worry! Help is on the way!”

He quickly dials an unseen number and wants for the other end to pick up. Igor frowns. Maybe he was calling a locksmith?

“Hello? Yes I’m here at the veterinary clinic on Campbell and I need a police car dispatched right away. There’s been a break in.”

Igor’s jaw drops. He really needs to stop being so flabbergasted by this man. He was just one conundrum after the other. 

“Yes, thank you!” Victor slides the phone back into Igor’s pocket. “They’re on their way! I’m sure they’ll get you out of those cuffs in no time! Plus I’ve saved you the trouble of calling the police yourself! No, no, don’t thank me it’s the least I could do.”

Igor’s mouth doesn’t seem to be working properly yet, so he says nothing. Victor re-adjusts his satchel and makes his way towards the door before coming to a stop. He looks back.

“I almost forgot. What’s your name?”

“I-Igor.” 

Victor looks over Igor, his gaze seems to swallow him up. His eyes rake over Igor’s head down to the souls of his shoes. Something warm tickles in Igor’s stomach and he swallows.

And then the moment’s gone. Victor snaps back to reality as he turns back to the door.

“Farewell, Igor.” Victor winks at him before vanishing through the doorway.

Igor stands there, blinking at the space Victor had just occupied and waits for the rest of the world to catch up to him. 

-

Lorelei was a woman on a mission. For the past week her best friend had been spacing out. Whenever they hung out together Igor would get a lost look in his eyes and stare off into the sky. She once had to catch him from walking out into oncoming traffic. He’d scared the living daylights out of her and she had had enough.

Igor stares blankly at his food from across her. They were currently having lunch at their usual café. Lorelei leans over, putting her chin in her hands, and clears her throat. Igor doesn’t look up. She coughs again. Nothing.

“Igor!”

He jumps. “What? What is it?”

“You’re doing it again.”

He has the decency to look sheepish before giving her a small, “Sorry.”

She watches him take a french fry and dip it into the ketchup. He swirls it around on his plate without actually eating it. She sighs.

“Igor,” she says lightly, “we’ve known each other for three years and not once have I ever seen you this way. I just...I’m worried about you.”

Igor stops. 

“Are you alright? Truly?”

Igor’s whole demeanor softens. He’d never meant to worry his friend. Ever since that day at they met volunteering at the animal shelter she’s been his rock. But now it seems he was unintentionally hurting her.

“I’m fine, Lor. Honest. It’s just that—“He hesitates. He’s not sure he wants to reveal what happened that night. Mostly because he still has a hard time believing it himself. 

“There was a break-in at the clinic a week ago.”

“Oh my god!” She looks like she’s about to spring up out of her seat.

“Wait, no it’s okay! I’m fine! I wasn’t hurt!”

“Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?!” 

Oh no, her gaze was starting to harden and Igor knows he’s in trouble now. He squirms in his seat, trying to look meek and humble. It doesn’t work.

“I don’t know, it was just really weird and it all happened so fast.”

Lorelei frowns. “Okay, just—just start at the beginning.”

And so he does. He tells her of the crazy man, Victor Frankenstein. He tells her how he wanted animal parts. How he was a scientist chasing an impossible dream.

“So then the police finally came and they were able to un-cuff me. I didn’t tell them his name though. I just couldn’t.”

Igor catches the quizzical look Lorelei gives him. That was fine though. It was hard enough for him to understand it, and he’d been the one to live through it.

“It was incredibly strange and it all happened so fast but there was something about him.” Igor trails off, looking out of the window at the busy street. “I wanted to believe in him. I didn’t even know him but listening to him and talking to him...it felt right.”

Lorelei’s gaze softens. “Sometimes the heart knows better than the mind.”

“It was just all so weird. So surreal.” Igor nibbles at his burger. “His theories sounded far-fetched but I can’t help thinking that maybe it isn’t all that over-reaching at all. What if it is possible to do such a thing?”

Lorelei hums, sipping her tea. “What if he breaks in again? Do you think he’ll come back?”

Igor shrugs. “I dunno. I had to inform the police about the break in and the stolen organs after all—“

“Even though you withheld information.” She chimes in, but Igor plunges on.

“—so I doubt he’d return to the scene of the crime. I know it’s unlikely I’ll ever see him again, but I can’t stop thinking about him.”

Lorelei raises a brow. 

“N-not like that! I mean I can’t stop thinking about what he said! About life and death!”

“So you want to find him?”

Igor looks down at his plate, brows furrowed in concentration. If he really was a student then it probably wouldn’t be that hard to look him up. But what if he did try to look him up only to find Victor Frankenstein didn’t exist? What if everything he’d said was a lie? 

“I honestly don’t know.”

She smiles “Well he sounds like a very interesting man.”

“Yeah.” He says softly. “He really was.”

-

Two weeks later at some point in the afternoon Igor is tapping away on the computer when the door to the clinic bursts open and Victor Frankenstein proudly strolls in. A small yorkie is squirming and yelping in his hands. Igor gapes. He looked every bit as eccentric and out of place as he did that first night. He’s still wearing the expensive looking coat along with name brand designer jeans and a golden watch on his wrist. Igor feels ratty in his hastily-pulled back pony tail and lab coat.

Victor strolls up to the counter and Igor has to strain from having a break down in front of the other customers.

“What are you doing here?” he hisses, trying not to alarm anyone within hearing vicinity. 

“I need more parts.” Victor whispers back. 

At the words, Igor’s gaze shifts wildly around the small waiting room in a blight of paranoia. An old woman in the corner is eyeing them in disgust and Igor gives her a half-hearted smile of reassurance.

“ _No_.” He snaps. His chest is bursting with a confusing mix of utter happiness at seeing Victor again, but also anger because he still remembers how the man had left him handcuffed and alone. “I’m not just giving you more dead animals! Don’t come back here again!”

Victor reaches out with one hand across the counter and grabs Igor’s coat. “Please! I’m on the verge of a break through! If I could just have a little more I could—“

“No!” 

Igor snaps a little too loud and the old woman looks up to glare at them both. Igor sheepishly lowers his voice. He yanks his coat out of Victor’s hands. He was pretty sure the man did not understand the meaning of personal space.

Victor manages to look exasperated even though he was the one invading Igor’s work space. “Look, if you knew what I needed them for—“

“Yeah, some crackpot theory about bringing back the dead. You told me.” Okay fine, maybe Igor didn’t think it was a crackpot theory at all, but he was still mad at him nevertheless.

But Victor pulls back at the words, looking taken back for once. If Igor looks closer he can see hurt behind his eyes which makes him want to duck his head in shame. This strange man could really pull off the puppy dog look rather well. It really wasn’t fair.

Speaking of dogs—Igor frowns at the one Victor’s holding. It hasn’t shut up and is still desperately trying to escape Victor’s hold.

“Could you please quiet your dog?”

“Oh this? It’s not my dog.”

Pause.

“What?”

“Well I found him wondering around and I picked him up—smaller dogs have such an interesting array of organs—and then this lady started screaming I was stealing him. I was going to give him back but then she ran off in search of the police. I didn’t want to just leave the thing out in the open so...um, I just brought it here.” He finishes lamely.

A sort of nervous embarrassment has taken over Victor and it leaves Igor speechless. His tale is ridiculous (just what did a normal day even look like for this guy?) but the nervous quality in his tone is something that has Igor rooted to the spot. It was oddly fascinating. Igor had thought the only emotions Victor was capable of emitting were excitement and exasperation. It leaves Igor wanting to see more of Victor’s other sides. What other sorts of faces could he make?

The crabby woman in the corner coughs loudly and he’s shaken from his inner thoughts.

“Just give me the dog.” He holds his hands out. So far, Victor was bringing nothing but trouble and nuisance into his stable life. The worst thing about it was that he couldn’t decide if he liked it or not.

“So are you working tonight?”

“W-what?”

“I just told you I need more parts! I’d rather come by when you’re working than when someone else is and then they’ll have me arrested!”

“Well good! You shouldn’t be coming by at all anyway! Just get out of here and leave me alone!” 

Igor bugs the dog to his chest and moves away from the counter. He’s about to take the dog into the back where he can hold the animal until its owner comes, but Victor follows suit. He leaps over the counter— _actually leaps_ —and thrusts out his hands to block Igor against the door. Everyone in the waiting room was now staring at them. Igor feels his face heat to boiling point in under 5 seconds.

He tries to find his voice. “You’re not supposed to be behind the counter!”

Victor slides his hands down the door on either side of Igor. “Please tell me when you’ll be here. You’re the only one I can count on.”

Igor can feel the wait of the room’s stares burning into him, but they don’t compare to Victor’s bright eyes, searching with eager hope that Igor will help him in his insane endeavor. Igor tries and fails to swallow. He was completely wrong before. Victor did in fact understand the meaning of personal space. And he knew how to use it to his advantage extremely well.

“I—I can’t. I don’t...”

“ _Please,_ ” Victor reaches up to wrap both of his hands around Igor’s free one. He squeezes it gently. “I need you.”

There’s a heavy gasp from somewhere in the background of the room, but Igor doesn’t turn his head for the source. This was utterly embarrassing. It probably looked like some dramatic confession of love. No way his coworkers weren’t going to hear about this. 

His jaw loosens and the words fall out before he can properly think about what he’s about to say.

“Okay.”

Victor beams at him. “Perfect! I’ll see you tonight!”

He practically flies out of the clinic, leaving Igor still pressed against the door and breathing hard. He tries not to pay attention to the feeling of everyone’s eyes on him. He’d dug his own grave this time. It couldn’t get any worse than—

“Igor? Who was that?”

His head snaps up. Lorelei looks at him with confusion and his heart drops. Apparently it could get worse.

“L-Lorelei! Ha ha! Hi!” His voice sounds crazed and he winces. “H-how are you? Betsy doing alright?”

Lorelei smiles, looking down at the dog next to her. “Yes she’s fine. Just a checkup for today.”

“Yep, yep that sounds lovely! Could you please excuse me for a minute?” 

He escapes out the door and doesn’t stop till he’s in the back of the building. He puts the stolen dog in one of the spare cages and reminds himself to call the number on the collar later. Right now he just needs to breathe. Victor would be coming back tonight. And he’d promised to be here.

Shit. He was in for it now. There was no way Lorelei wouldn’t see past his façade and demand answers. That woman was perceptive as hell. 

Slowly, as one would attempt the walk of shame, he re-enters the front of the clinic where Lorelei is now talking to one of his coworkers setting up future appointments for Betsy.

“I’ll take over from here thanks.” He tells them and slides into their place. He manages to type for a few blessed silent moments and then,

“So, you wanna tell me what’s going on or do I have to guess?”

He pauses in his typing.

“That was him.” He mumbles.

“What?”

“That was _him_.” He says again.

Lorelei’s eyes widen. “No.” She grins. “No! Oh my god that’s the guy who broke in?”

“Shhh!” 

Igor looks out to the waiting room, thankfully the Crabby Woman isn’t looking at them. Her nose was now stuffed inside a reader’s digust magazine.

Lorelei is bouncing on her feet. “He was such a looker too! You didn’t tell me that!”

“Oh, because I know so much about appreciating the male body?”

Lorelei slaps him playfully. “You know what I mean.” She teases. “So what did he want?”

“He wants to come back tonight for more parts.”

Her grin slips. Igor sighs.

“I don’t know what to do, Lor. I don’t actually want to get him arrested but—“

She lays a hand across his arm. He looks up from the counter into his friend’s eyes. 

“For two weeks you couldn’t get this man out of your head, I think...I think if you let yourself hear what he has to say it’ll make it easier for you to come to a decision about him.”

“So you think I should talk to him tonight?”

She nods. “We don’t actually know if he’s some recently escaped lunatic, or if he is what he says he is. But you’ll never know unless you talk to him.”

Igor sighs. “You’re right.”

Lorelei squeezes his arm. “Of course I am! And don’t you dare leave out any juicy details tomorrow! You’re going to tell me everything that happens!”

-

Igor nervously watches the clock count down. Everyone else has already gone home for the night. He fidgets at every sound he hears outside. This was such a bad idea. He shouldn’t have stayed. He should just go home, sleep, and never think about Victor again. He should just—

There’s a soft knock on the glass door. Igor looks up.

“Victor?”

“Igor!”

Igor hurries over to him and unlocks the door. 

“Thank you, my friend! Now if you’ll just—“

“Hold on,” Igor says sternly. “I can’t let you have any more animals.”

Victor’s eyes dim in their brightness. “But you said...”

“I didn’t say anything.” Igor hardens himself. He could do this. Come one, he could do this. “I don’t actually know anything about you. We’ve only met twice! How do I know you’re telling the truth about anything?”

Victor pauses for a moment, and then grins at him. “That’s it? Well why didn’t you say so?” 

He grabs his hand and pulls him outside, energy coming off him in excited waves. “Come on! I’ll show you my work!”

“Wait, what?”

Victor pulls him over to his car and climbs into the driver’s seat. Igor hesitates. 

“What are you waiting for? Get it!”

Igor takes one last look at the clinic and steals himself. Well, here goes nothing. Lorelei was going to have a fit when she learned Igor got into a car with a strange, mad-man. If he died at least Lorelei would be able to tell the police who did it.

They drive for only 20 minutes before reaching their destination. Igor pears out of the car at the warehouse. He looks back to see Victor jumping out of the car. He looks so excited to show Igor his work that it makes Igor wonder just how many people he’s shown; how many people have given his theory the benefit of the doubt.

Igor follows Victor up to the door and watched him pull out a key. As the heavy door swings open Victor holds out his arm.

“After you.”

Igor cautiously ventures into the dark. He could see various shapes but he couldn’t really make anything out. It occurs to Igor that he’s followed a practical stranger to a dark warehouse and this was literally how every mystery murder book he’s ever read started out. His breath catches and he tries not to bolt.

“Darn light switch! Where is that blasted thing?” Victor grumbles from behind him. “Ah! Here we go!”

Light floods the room in an instant. Igor’s arm shoots up to shield his eyes as he blinks out into the sudden light. The shapes start to take form and he freezes. Machines, huge machines surrounded the place. Igor turns and sees several tables littered with beakers and wires and odd looking contraptions. 

Victor comes up beside him and claps him on the shoulder. “Beautiful isn’t it?”

Igor nods. Speechless. 

“Come! I’ll show you what I’ve been working on!”

Igor follows him in a daze. Wait till Lorelei heard about this.

-

Igor rubs his temples. He could feel a headache forming. He looks at the clock and sighs at the late time it showed. He should probably get home soon. 

There’s a soft knock on the door and he looks up.

“Dr. Strausman? I’ll be going home now.”

He smiles. “Yes, alright. Go on ahead, I just need to finish signing these papers.”

His coworker nods and leaves him to his work. Igor groans. He looks down at the paper and tries to focus but the lettering just seems to swim together making it impossible to read.

He’s bored. He’s been bored for the past 9 days. Victor hasn’t called nor texted him for over a week and Igor is visibly irritated. 

After that night in the warehouse, witnessing Victor’s triumph over nature, they’d been glued at the hip ever since. Victor started harassing Igor more and more at work, trying to pull him away from ‘mundane trivialities’ to help him work on his project. And Igor quickly discovered that that was the only thing Victor ever did with his time. He didn’t go to the movies, didn’t have any friends, he simply had no hobbies. All of Victor’s time was consumed by his project. Igor was appalled to learn that he ordered out more often than not because cooking took time away from his work. He was quite simply the definition of a workaholic. But Igor didn’t mind. The man’s fierce dedication and charisma made it enjoyable to work with him. Victor wore confidence like a second skin, parading around with a wild glint in his eye and a skip in his step. It was contagious. Igor found himself returning Victor’s smile more often than not whenever they were together.

Lorelei had insistently invited them to lunch ever since she heard that they were working together. She didn’t listen to Igor’s explanations that it was incredibly difficult to tear Victor away from his work, and that he considered everything else to be beneath him since his time was incredibly precious. But, finally, a month later Igor eventually got him to agree to come out with him and Lorelei. Victor scoffed at her when they first met, slumping in his chair and looking for all the world like he’d rather be anywhere else. It had been at that precise moment that Igor had suddenly remembered that Victor was prone to insult the intelligence of anyone unfortunate enough to cross paths with him. Aside from his work, informing ignorant people to stick it in creative ways was the only thing that he seemed to enjoy doing. Igor had never once heard him use the same insult twice. Every person’s level of intelligence was different, and therefore deserved a different derogatory barb.

Secretly, Igor took pleasure that he was seemingly the only exception to Victor’s constant distain towards average people. He didn’t tolerate stupidity. He didn’t tolerate ignorance. But he never insulted Igor. Not once. The only thing he showered Igor with was award-winning smiles and claps to the back of a job well done. It made him feel important and wanted. Like he was exceptional.

But at that point in time, as Victor sat across from Igor’s best friend, he suddenly wasn’t so sure about the meeting. Lorelei meant a lot to him. But no doubt Victor would only see her as a nuisance for taking him away from his work. 

“Igor speaks very highly of you.” Lorelei started the conversation. 

Victor’s ears perked up in response. “Oh?”

“Lor!” Igor’s cheeks burned. 

She laughed. “Oh yes! I can’t get him to talk about anything else these days! I’ve never seen him so obsessed before!”

Victor had straightened with pride while Igor sunk into his chair. The two got along very well after that.

For three months they saw each other practically every day. It was hard to juggle work and helping Victor out, but Igor somehow made it work. He’d never felt more alive than when he was with Victor. They were doing something good. Something that would help everyone all over the world.

Igor stabs his pen into the paper. Victor hasn’t contacted him for 9 days and 26 minutes. Hasn’t answered his calls or responded to his voicemails.

It was weird going back to his old routine. He’d never realized how boring his life was without the wildfire that Victor Frankenstein had brought to it. All the things Victor claimed were mundane and ordinary, Igor could finally see what he’d been talking about. After having a taste of greatness, he didn’t want to go back to how it had been. 

Grumbling, Igor shoves the pen and the papers into his drawer and shuts it forcefully. He sighs and gets up to turn off the light. Maybe he should try going by the warehouse tomorrow. He didn’t have a key, Victor had never given him one. He’d never needed to because they always went to the warehouse together. But Igor doesn’t want to wait around until Victor remembers he exists. He’ll just have to go to him.

Igor locks the door to the clinic pockets the key. He stands there for a bit looking out at the dark. He closes his eyes and leans his head back against the building. It was funny. For the longest time Igor had thought that the one person he could never live without was Lorelei. But they’d gone a lot longer than a week without talking before and Igor had never reacted this badly. 

The roar of an engine reaches his ears and Igor opens his eyes. He looks down the street and feels the breath leave his body. Victor’s car races towards him with an urgency that can’t possibly be within the speeding limit. The car speeds into the parking lot and the brakes screech as it comes to a stop in front of him. The door opens to Victor’s wild grin.

“Get it!”

Igor doesn’t think twice. He scrambles into the car and shuts it with a rush of excitement.

“Where are we going?”

Victor’s enthusiasm is catching on and Igor’s previous anger at being ignored fades away as if it were never there.

“You’ll see!”

They speed past the buildings, taking new turns and twists. This wasn’t the way to the warehouse. Wherever they were going it was someplace new. 

“Here,” Victor throws something at his lap, “you’ll need this.”

Igor picks the thing up and examines it. He blanches.

“Victor,”

“Yes?”

“Why do I have to wear a ski mask?”

“You’ll see.”

“Are we about to do something illegal?”

Victor grins at him and Igor curses himself for wanting to smile back. He can’t help but feel excited as well. Every second spent by Victor’s side was an adventure, and he really wouldn’t have it any other way.

But still Lorelei would probably disapprove of whatever Victor was planning.

“Where are we going?”

Victor doesn’t answer. Igor sighs, damn him for loving this. At least Victor has finally learned to cover his face when breaking in to places. But if they get caught he’s going to blame it all Victor. He’s not going down for this idiot. 

(that’s a lie he totally would)

After a while Igor starts to recognize the part of town they’re in. A dawning realization hits him in the gut. There was one specific place that was located in this part of town. One specific place that would hold interest to Victor Frankenstein in the middle of the night.

“The zoo?”

They park a ways away from the lot on the side of the street. Victor winks at him and pulls on his own ski mask. Igor rolls his eyes before following suit and hurrying out of the car. Victor pops the trunk open and pulls out a black bag.

“Why are we here? If you needed more parts you could’ve just asked!”

“I needed bigger ones! I figured out that’s my problem! I need bigger organs to sustain the energy!”

“That’s...” Igor blinks, “That’s actually quite brilliant.”

Victor grins at him. Igor wonders what kind of punishment he’ll suffer at the hands of God for feeding such a man’s ego. 

“Come on, we have to get over the fence!”

Igor follows Victor’s lead, sneaking up to the gate crouching by the fence. Victor jumps up and climbs over the top of the fence. Igor climbs up after him and jumps back down on the other side. If only Lorelei could see him now. They must never speak of this.

Victor presses up against his shoulder and pulls out a map. “Right, so we’re going after the lioness that died yesterday. They’ll have moved her over here in this building.” He indicates to a point on one side of the map. “We’ll stay off the main pathways and keep to the shadows.”

He folds the map and puts it in his pocket. He straightens the shoulder strap of his bag and glances over at Igor.

“Ready?”

They’ve snuck into a zoo where they’re about to amputate a dead lion for organs. Yep, he’s ready.

He nods and they’re off. To Igor’s complete lack of surprise, all that pent up energy that Victor always seemed to carry around made it slightly difficult to keep up with the man. Igor feels like a dog chasing the heels of his master. Luckily, their destination isn’t that far of a walk. 

A light flashes and they stop. A security guard.

Victor turns and snatches his wrist. “Come on!” He whispers.

And they’re running. It’s dark and hard to see, but Igor’s blood is pumping through his veins and he’s never been this happy in his life. Victor’s hand is warm around his skin and he wouldn’t have it any other way. 

They reach the building in no time and they slow down to survey the outside. Victor drops his bag and pulls out a small tool. 

“Make sure no one’s coming.” He whispers over his shoulder.

Igor nods, turning to keep watch. He feels a knot in the pit of his stomach. It was as if it were only now truly dawning on him the gravity of how much trouble they would be in if they were to be found out.

And to think he was bored earlier today.

“Dammit!”

“What?”

Victor growls. “This might take a bit longer than I thought.”

Igor bounces on his feet, unable to stay still when his nerves were going haywire. Victor prods at the lock, trying aimlessly to get it open.

A flash of light pulls Igor’s gaze from the door. He looks out down the pathway to the moving light. Had that security guard seen them after all?

“Victor, someone’s coming!”

“Well then create a distraction!”

“What? That’ll just alert them we’re here! We should hide before they—”

The light moves, latching onto the both of them. Igor curses under his breath.

“Hey! What are you two doing over there?” An angry voice calls out. 

Crap. They really were bad at this breaking and entering thing.

“Victor, time’s up we need to go!”

But Victor refuses to move. Igor grabs his shoulders and tries to pull him away. But Victor pushes him away angrily.

“No! I need those organs, Igor! You know how important it is!”

In the background, Igor can hear the security guard calling for backup. He crouches down beside Victor.

“I know,” he says, “I know it’s important. But we’ve been spotted, and you can’t save the world if you’re in jail.”

Victor looks back at the door, face strained with disappointment.

“Fine.”

Relief floods Igor’s senses. They both quickly get to their feet and take off towards the bushes.

“Stop!” The security guard follows suit.

Igor can hear the crunching of grass and leaves behind them as they run off the trail. No doubt the guard had already called backup by now. 

“In here!” Victor throws himself behind a building and crashes through the door. Igor follows him inside and slams the door shut behind him. They quickly barricade the door and sink below the windows. There’s cursing and running outside.

“Crap!” Victor pokes his head up over the window and looks out. “He’s on top of us! Can you find any weapons?”

In a rational situation Igor would be appalled at the thought of attacking an innocent man for doing his job, but the heat of the moment is still rushing through his veins and Igor looks around the small room searching for anything they can use. They’ve apparently found a break room of sorts. He can see a sink, cabinets, and a microwave in the corner. 

“I think there might be some knives in the drawer over there.” 

“Great!” Victor flings his arms into the air in a dramatic gesture. “You can make me a sandwich while they arrest us!”

“Don’t put this on me!” He snaps. “This was your idea! Did you even put any thought to this before deciding to break in?”

“You’re the one who wanted to come along!” Victor retaliates.

“Only because you dragged me into it!”

“I did not!” Victor huffs. “You could’ve turned around and gone back to your boring little clinic at any time!”

_“Not without you!”_

The words echo off the walls, ringing in Igor’s ears. They’re both breathing harshly. The security guard runs past the window in search of them.

“I’m not going back.” Igor says again, his voice barely above a whisper. “I can’t. Not without you.”

Victor’s eyes shine in the darkness. Unspoken words twisting in the air.

“Igor...”

A sudden banging startles them. The door rattles on its hinges.

“Come on out! I know you’re in there!”

“He’s found us!” Igor scrambles away from the door. “What do we do now?”

Victor sweeps his gaze around the room. “Look for a back door! We’ll have to make a run for it!”

Igor nods. Silently, they both make their way further into the building. Just as they locate another door, there’s a crash from further inside the building. The guard had broken through the barrier. Victor and Igor run for it. They race outside, not daring to look back to see if the guard has caught up yet. 

At this point Igor is completely lost. He’s not sure what part of the zoo they were in or where they had come in from, but they didn’t have time to find out. The best thing would be to find the nearest wall, hop over it, and then try to locate the car afterward.

Behind them, Igor can hear shouting and he runs a little faster.

“Go go go!” Victor spots the wall up ahead and races towards it.

Years from today Igor will probably look back on this moment and still examine it in utter disbelief. For Victor seems to fly off the very ground and graze over the wall in 2 seconds flat. Igor is left on the other side staring with awe and confusion and wondering if gravity has been temporarily disconnected. 

“Come on!” Victor’s voice calls from the other side.

Igor shakes away his disbelief and hops up on the edge. He looks down the other side at Victor who looks frantically around them in case a cop car comes rushing past.

“You do realize normal people can’t jump ten feet into the air, right?” Igor hisses as he jumps down the other side.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Victor says as they take off running down the street. “You’re anything but normal, Igor.”

The blush that creeps onto his face has no business being there and Igor wills it away. He’s supposed to be angry after all. Victor had decided on a whim to go to the zoo with no real plan and now they were being chased. He had every right to be angry. Honestly he’s surprised they got in at all.

It was probably too dangerous to go around the zoo to the other side where they’d parked the car. The police would be looking for them by now. So instead they head off into a nearby park to wait it out. Igor’s just grateful they can stop running for a second. He wasn’t built for this sort of thing.

He flops down onto the grass and tries to catch his breath. He hears a thump beside him as Victor joins him. They both lie there on their backs, listening to the quiet night around them.

Victor grumbles beside him. “We’ll have to go back before they move her. They’ll probably double the security though so it’ll have to be as soon as possible.”

Igor blinks. He breaths in. Breaths out. It starts in his chest, travels up his throat and tickles his tongue until it finally falls out through his mouth. The giggling starts soft and gets louder and louder until Igor is laughing uncontrollably. He knows that Victor is 100% serious about going back and Igor is most definitely going to get dragged back there as well.

He laughs until his stomach hurts. Victor mutters in annoyance but he doesn’t say anything more. Igor wipes away his tears and the laughter dies down. He smiles as they lie in the grass and stare up at the stars. An unnatural quiet settles around them. Victor is perpetually moving, perpetually talking. Silence is something he just doesn’t do. It’s odd to see Victor so still.

Igor turns to look at him, just to check. Just to be sure that this is real. That the past several months have been real. Victor looks back at him and smiles. He then shifts to look up at the sky once more. He breathes in softly and Igor watches his chest move up and down. Up and down. 

Igor stares up at the glittering lights overhead. Thinking about space and time, and what life’s purpose was. He thinks about what most people think about when they look up at the stars and wonders what Victor thinks when he looks at them too.

“I’m going to change the world, Igor.” Victor’s gentle voice breaks the silence.

Igor shifts his gaze towards the other man. Entire constellations reflect in Victor’s eyes.

“I’m going to change the world.”

And Igor believes him.


End file.
